2
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1983
MUSEUM OF ART PLAYING MULTIPLE ROLES
******
THE HONG KONG MUSEUM OF ART PLAYS AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE PROMOTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF LOCAL ART.
WITH THE COSMOPOLITAN NATURE OF HONG KONG SOCIETY, LOCAL ARTISTS ARE ABLE TO DEVELOP AN ART FORM UNIQUE IN ITSELF. THE IR WORKS OFTEN REPRESENT A FUSION OF EASTERN AND WESTERN ART, BLENDING STYLES, TECHNIQUES, COLOURS AND GRAPHIC DESIGNS OF DIFFERENT CULTURES.
+ IT IS IMPORTANT TO DISCOVER AND ENCOURAGE THESE TALENTS AND PROVIDE A VENUE FOR THEIR WORKS SO THAT THEY CAN BE APPRECIATED BY THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, MR LAURENCE TAM, THE CURATOR OF THE MUSEUM OF ART. SAID.
TO THIS END, THE MUSEUM HOLDS A BIENNIAL EXHIBITION OF WORKS BY LOCAL ARTISTS. THE EXHIBITION IS DIVIDED INTO SIX CATEGORIES: CHINESE PAINTINGS, WESTERN PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES, PRINTS, CALL IGRAPHY, DRAWINGS AND OTHERS. AN AWARD WINNER IS CHOSEN FROM EACH OF THEM.
+THE WINNERS ARE THEN GIVEN ABOUT ONE YEAR'S TIME TO CREATE MORE WORKS WHICH WILL BE SHOWN IN AN URBAN COUNCIL FINE ART AWARD WINNERS EXHIBITION SO THAT TALENTS ARE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO FURTHER DEVELOP THE IR POTENTIAL, MR TAM SAID.
THIS HAS PROVED TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE IN THE PROMOTION OF LOCAL ART. IN 1981, OVER 1 230 ENTRIES WERE RECEIVED FOR THE BIENNIAL EXHIBITION AND 141 ITEMS WERE SELECTED FOR DISPLAY. THE NEXT EXHIBITION WILL BE HELD IN OCTOBER THIS YEAR.
TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF LOCAL ARTISTS, THE MUSEUM ALSO HOLDS PERIODICAL EXHIBITIONS FOR WELL-KNOWN HONG KONG ARTISTS. THESE ARTISTS ARE USUALLY RECOGNISED FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MODERN ART AND PLAY LEADING ROLES IN THE LOCAL ART SCENE.
SOME OF THESE EXHIBITIONS HELD INCLUDED CHAO SHAO-AN'S CHINESE BIRD-AND-FLOWER PAINTINGS, WUCIUS WONG'S PAINTINGS, PRINTS AND DRAWINGS, AND CHEUNG YEE'S SCULPTURES.
AT PRESENT, THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTIONS CONSIST OF MORE THAN
1 080 ITEMS OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART, 949 CHINESE PAINTINGS, 1 516 ITEMS OF CHINESE CERAMICS, ANTIQUITIES AND OTHER CRAFTS, AND 863 HISTORIAL PICTURES OF HONG KONG AND CHINA.
MR TAM SAID THAT THIS YEAR THE MUSEUM WAS ALLOCATED $3.6 MILLION FOR FURTHER EXPANDING ITS COLLECTIONS. +THE FUND WILL BE USED MAINLY FOR ACQUIRING REPRESENTATIVE WORKS OF ART TO FILL GAPS IN THE COLLECTIONS. OTHER THAN WORKS OF ART DIRECTLY RELATED TO HONG KONG, THOSE ORIGINATING FROM CHINA AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA ARE ALSO COLLECTED BECAUSE OF OUR CHINESE HERITAGE AND OUR CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES, HE SAID.
/BESIDES MOUNTING